Wow! or Waste? Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette

Hey everyone! I’ve been posting so much in the last couple of days, but when I caught sight of this on the Sephora app I knew I needed to find out more! Upon clicking on it, I saw that it was supposed to be a miniature version of the Kat Von D MetalMatte palette that came out last holidays, which was a total hit.

Let’s start with some background.

The Limited Edition 2016 Kat Von D MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette included 22 eyeshadows, 13 of which were matte, and 9 were metallics, and is no longer available. The palette was priced at $72 CAD ($60 USD). Each shadow had 0.06 oz of product, for a grand total of 1.32 oz. This is a very large palette that includes a LOT of product. In fact, I am not familiar with a palette that has more product than this one.

Now, turning to this latest release.

The Limited Edition Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette includes 10 shadows, 5 matte and 5 metallic. Of all the shadows, 7 are repeats from the original MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette (Feather, Oak, Suede, Bone, Velvet, Synergy and Flash; pictured below). This palette is priced at $53 CAD ($39 USD). Each shadow again has 0.06 oz of product, for a grand total of 0.60 oz.

The 4 above photos are from the Kat Von D websiteThe repeat shades that were originally in the MetalMatte, but are now also in the MetalMatte Mini are circled above in red.

Now upon seeing the word mini, I was so shocked at the price!!!! How can a “mini” palette cost $53!!!! I associate mini with the Tarte mini palettes, that cost $30 CAD, or the Smashbox Covershot palettes that cost $35 CAD, or even the new mini Huda Beauty Obsessions palettes, that also cost $35 CAD. But $53?!?!

This was my initial reaction, thus a new Wow! or Waste? has been born.

MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette

Product Information

“The sold out MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette is back and better than ever in a never-before-seen travel size. Meet MetalMatte Mini, a color-coordinated mashup of warm tones and contrasting textures, celebrating the two sides within everyone—whether it’s soft and romantic, rock ‘n’ roll, or both.

The palette’s top row features an explosive lineup of bestselling shades in Kat’s Metal Crush Eyeshadow formula, including “Thunderstruck,” a fan-favorite metallic pearl that doubles as a highlighter. The bottom of the palette is a warm-toned array of buttery mattes, in a range of neutral tones from dark and moody to creamy and light—all in Kat’s signature blendable, pigmented eyeshadow formula.”

Price and Quantity

Like I mentioned earlier, this palette is priced at $53 CAD ($39 USD) and has 0.60 oz of product.

The most important point to get across with this palette is that even though it has the word “mini” in the name, it is very much not a mini palette. This palette has 0.60 oz of product. That is around the usual amount of product included in regular-sized eyeshadow palettes. For example, Urban Decay Naked palettes always have 0.60 oz, Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes have 0.54 oz, and Tarte Tartelette palettes have 0.64 oz.

Mini palettes that I can think of are the Tarte mini palettes like the Tartelette Flirt, which has 0.18 oz of product, and the Smashbox Cover Shot palettes, which have 0.27 oz of product.These are true mini palettes, as you can see, they have at half or less than half the amount of product found in regular eyeshadow palettes.

Clearly, this Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini palette is only referred to as mini because this is in direct comparison to the original MetalMatte, which was a very large palette (0.6 oz VS 1.32 oz = half the product = mini).

I think the same goes for the Huda Beauty Obsessions. Those palettes are referred to as mini, but actually have quite a bit of product (0.45 oz). 0.45 oz is a pretty reasonable size for a regular palette, however, in comparison to the regular Huda Beauty palettes like the Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette, which has 0.89 oz, the obsessions ones are certainly mini. However, the Huda Beauty Obsessions palettes do seem to be a particularly good deal (check out the comparisons below).

My whole point is that although the Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette is referred to as mini, it is not actually mini as far as eyeshadow palettes go. I think we have come to associate “mini” with palettes that are A LOT smaller, so we are shocked at this price. However, this palette is not actually mini. You are getting a regular sized palette, that is why it is priced at $53 CAD.

I’m going to compare this palette to a variety of other palettes, including Holiday releases, similar warm-toned palettes, some mini palettes and the original Metal Matte Eyeshadow Palette. I’m going to group this into two comparison charts.The first chartonly compares the Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini to other similarly sized palettes and mini palettes. AKA regular eyeshadow palettes and mini eyeshadow palettes. In the second chart, I broaden the comparison to include larger, value-sized palettes as well (just as an FYI for your purchasing information), which are almost always less expensive per oz, and are usually a better deal, despite the high initial price.

Rank

Company’s Product Mentioned Above

Cost
($ CAD)

Quantity (oz)

Number of Shades

Cost-Quantity Ratio for 1 oz of product

1

Huda Beauty Obsessions

$35

0.45 = mini

9

$78/oz

2

Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette

$53

0.6

10

$88/oz

3

Tarte Tartelette Toasted

$60

0.64

12

$94/oz

4

UD Naked Heat

$66

0.6

12

$110/oz

5

Smashbox Cover Shot: Eye Palettes

$35

0.27 = true mini

8

$130/oz

6

Tarte Tartelette Flirt

$30

0.18 = true mini

6

$167/oz

From the above comparisons, you can see that when compared to similarly sized palettes, the Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette is definitely a Wow! It has great value, and is only surpassed by the Huda Beauty Obsessions palettes, which seem to be a particularly good deal. As you can see at the bottom of the chart, the true mini sized palettes are the worst deal, therefore you are paying extra for the convenience of a small size.

Rank

Company’s Product Mentioned Above

Cost
($ CAD)

Quantity (oz)

Number of Shades

Cost-Quantity Ratio for 1 oz of product

1

Kat Von D MetalMatte Eyeshadow Palette

$72

1.32 = large

22

$55/oz

2

Sephora PRO Warm Palette

$85

1.12 = large

28

$76/oz

3

Huda Beauty Obsessions

$35

0.45 = mini

9

$78/oz

4

Kat Von D Saint & Sinner

$83

0.96 = large

24

$86/oz

5

Kat Von D MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow Palette

$53

0.6

10

$88/oz

6

Tarte Tartelette Toasted

$60

0.64

12

$94/oz

7

Urban Decay Naked Heat

$66

0.6

12

$110/oz

8

Urban Decay Heavy Metals

$72

0.6

20

$120/oz

9

Smashbox Cover Shot: Eye Palettes

$35

0.27 = true mini

8

$130/oz

10

Tarte Tartelette Flirt

$30

0.18 = true mini

6

$167/oz

As you can see in this last chart, where I have broadened the comparison to include palettes of all sizes, this MetalMatte Mini Eyeshadow palettes doesn’t fare as well. But that is largely because this above comparison is unfair, as larger palettes seem to follow the trend of having better value. This is just like when you buy things in bulk, they are a better deal than when purchased in smaller quantities.

Wow or Waste? Overall, throughout my hopefully not too complicated explanations, this palette is very much a Wow! product.This palette, although named as a mini, is not a mini palette as far as eyeshadow palettes go.I think that this is a great palette to look into buying if you do not already own the original KVD MetalMatte, since 7 of the existing shades are repeated. However, even those who do own the original may want this, since it includes so many wearable and must have shades. Additionally, the three other shades in this new KVD MetalMatte Mini look so bomb!

Well that’s all for today’s Wow! or Waste? What do you think about the value of this palette? Were you also shocked by the price initially? Has this post helped remedy this? Comment down below!

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Originator of SUPERNOVABEAUTY. In order to escape the 9-5 life of a graduate student slave, I have devoted myself deeply to beauty products. I am very passionate about trying the latest and the greatest and can definitely say that I am an addict. At all hours of the day you can find me watching beauty tutorials and reviews by some of youtube's most influential, such as Tati, Kathleenlights, Roxette Arisa, jeffreestar and JAMbeauty89.

This looks like a great deal! As always, I enjoy your breakdowns of the costs! It is truly interesting and makes me wonder why we are all willing to pay these crazy prices sometimes! XD
I’ve never tried her shadows before but I love the look of this “mini” palette. Great colours!